Toyota First-Half Sales Fall Even as Hybrids Gain in US
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Toyota Motor Corp.’s global sales and output fell in the first half with sizable declines in Japan and China canceling out a resurgence of hybrids in North America.
Toyota’s global output — including that of subsidiaries Daihatsu Motor Co. and Hino Motors Ltd. — dropped 9.8% versus the first six months of 2023 to about 5 million units, according to a statement July 30. Worldwide sales declined 4.7% to 5.2 million.
Even though hybrid sales grew 57.2% to a record 473,000 units during the period in North America, the overall number was dragged down by a lackluster showing in Japan and China, where sales tumbled 22.3% and 10.8%, respectively. That was due in large part to broad recalls of the Prius and other models as well as intense competition from other EV makers like China’s BYD Co.
Toyota is also still dealing with the aftermath of multiple vehicle scandals that first emerged at a pair of subsidiaries in December, and then more recently in June at the carmaker itself. The upset followed revelations that a number of vehicle models weren’t properly tested for collision safety. The world’s biggest automaker was forced to temporarily suspend shipments on several models.
In June, Toyota’s global sales fell 5.8% to 912,971 units, decreasing for a fifth straight month.
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Chairman Akio Toyoda saw his support tumble to a record low for a second year last month during Toyota’s annual meeting, where a handful of activist shareholders voiced their concerns about his leadership and the company’s hesitation to embrace EVs, which they say caused it to fall behind BYD and Tesla Inc.
In a podcast interview published on the company’s media site July 29, Toyoda said he won’t get re-elected to the board next year if his support continues to decline. “No board member in Toyota’s history has seen their support fall so low,” he told the Toyota Times.
Meanwhile the carmaker, its financial partners and major investors have been unwinding cross-held stocks amid a government push to declutter business ties and revamp competition following a price-fixing scandal years ago.
Toyota recently announced plans to buy back as much as 806.8 billion yen ($5.2 billion) in shares from a few major banks and insurers as part of a 1 trillion-yen repurchase plan announced in May.
Nissan Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. are in talks to form an EV alliance that, according to local reports, Mitsubishi Motors Corp. hopes to join.
Such a move would pit the new three-way tie-up against the Toyota business group.
Honda’s first-half domestic sales rose 21.2% to 341,782 units, while exports to North American climbed 46.7%, the automaker said July 30.
Nissan’s global sales rose 2.4% to 1.71 million units during the half. Production fell 4.4% to 1.61 million.
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